Mechanization and Performance Analysis of Vertical Slip Form Wall Construction Technology

Building construction industries in Sri Lanka are currently facing burning issues due to lack of construction materials, transportation and high labour cost. Masonry wall construction and plastering is one of the most important jobs of small and large building construction. The slip form technology is an alternative wall construction method, introduced to the Sri Lankan construction industry in 1980, instead of burnt clay brick walls or cement sand block walls. The conventional slip form wall construction technology was commenced by the National Engineering Research & Development Centre (NERDC) with a fully manually operated system consisting of steel shutters, yokes, hydraulic jacks, and manually operated compaction hammers. An amount of 10% cement with quarry dust mix volume is sufficient to get required strength (cement quarry dust ratio is 1: 10) and it can be used as a load bearing wall between columns. The system has identified main drawbacks while construction of a wall such as uneven compaction due to manual compaction, high operational and shutter lifting time etc.